After the network reached its record high of 926 exahashes (EH/s) per second, reaching a 1.42% difficulty of 123.23 trillion, approximately 52 EH/s have ended the network since April 17th.
Difficulty spikes and hashrate drop blocking times increase
Bitcoin’s calculation power has been eased since last Thursday when it reached 920 EH/s. Since April 17, when the hashrate was on a coast run at 920 EH/s, 52 EH/s have left the network, bringing today’s total to 868 EH/s.
This shift coincides with increased mining profitability over the past 24 hours. Hashpris (an estimated spot value of 1 peta hash per second for hash power) is roses ranging from $43.53 to $45.73 by 11am on Monday. Bitcoin moves above the $88,000 threshold have led to increased hashpris and mining revenues.
Bitcoin Network Hashrate 7-Day Simple Moving Average (SMA) via HashrateIndex.com, April 21, 2025.
Conversely, on April 19, at block height of 893,088, network difficulties increased to a record 123.23 trillion. It marked a fourth difficulty adjustment after block 887,040, making the discovery of the block practically challenging for miners.
These variations demonstrate how miner behavior responds quickly to economic signals and protocol adjustments, reflecting the subtle pull of incentives and challenges. As profitability increases and difficulties increase, network equilibrium continues to evolve, demonstrating the flexibility, resilience and tenacity of Bitcoin’s engine.
Following the latest difficulty bumps and hashrate retreats, the block interval is nearly 10 minutes, and the average hovering close to 57 seconds. This impedance suggests that the next difficulty could be significantly reduced, but it is too early to confirm that a readjustment is scheduled for around May 4, 2025. However, the forecast now forecasts a significant 8.7% reduction.
